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COPYRIGHT DEPOSfT. 



I 




MAJOR GENERAL J. E. B. STUART 

from life that is extant 






MAJOR-GENERAL J. E. B. STUART 



J. E. B. STUART 

(MAJOR-GENERAL) 

Commander of the Cavalry Corps, Army 
of Northern Virginia, C. S. A. 



AN ADDRESS 

Delivered at the Unveiling of the Equestrian Statue 

of General Stuart, at Richmond, Virginia, 

May 30, IQ07 



BY 

THEODORE S. GARNETT 

HIS AIDE-DE-CAMP 



New York and Washington 

THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1907 



4&T 



UBflARY of C0N3RE3S 
Two Copies Rocatved 

DEC 18 1907 

ttc f /<?* 7 

CLASS 4 jtfc, L 

COPY B/ 



Copyright, 1907, by 
THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 



.F/n* published in December, igoy 



d 



TO 

The Veteran Cavalry Association 

of THE 

Army of Northern Virginia 



INTRODUCTION 

On the 30th day of May, 1907, the 
equestrian statue of Major-General J. E. 
B. Stuart was unveiled in the city of 
Richmond, Virginia. 

The Veteran Cavalry Association of 
the Army of Northern Virginia, to whose 
efforts the erection of this monument is 
due, and under whose auspices the im- 
pressive ceremonies were held, was or- 
ganized in the year 1891. The main pur- 
pose of the Association is now happily 
accomplished. The city of Richmond, in 
fulfilment of its pledge given immedi- 
ately after the death of General Stuart, 
generously aided the Association by a 
large contribution of money and donated 
the site for the statue on Monument 
Avenue. 

The artist and sculptor, Mr. Fred 
Moynihan, designed and executed the 
[7] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

work and well deserves praise for this 
striking example of his great art. 

The occasion was most appropriate, 
being the first day of the Seventeenth An- 
nual Reunion of the United Confederate 
Veteran Association, bringing together 
an immense concourse of people and 
large numbers of the veteran survivors of 
the armies of the South. It was a notable 
gathering, graced by the presence of 
many distinguished persons, among them 
Mrs. General J. E. B. Stuart and Mrs. 
General Stonewall Jackson. 

The granddaughter of General Stuart, 
little Miss Virginia Stuart Waller, un- 
veiled the statue. 

Major Andrew R. Venable presided; 
kev. Walter Q. Hullihen offered the 
prayer, and Judge Theodore S. Garnett 
delivered the address. All of these of- 
ficers were members of General Stuart's 
staff in 1864, the last named being chosen 
by the Veteran Cavalry Association to 
make the address. The speaker was 
[8] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

Stuart's aide-de-camp, having been pro- 
moted by him from the ranks, in which 
he had served as a courier to the General. 
He was with him in the battle of Yellow 
Tavern, May n, 1864, and assisted in 
bringing him, mortally wounded, from 
the battlefield to Richmond, where, on 
the day following, the General died. 

The official records and reports of the 
campaigns of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia mention the name of General J. E. 
B. Stuart as prominent in every great bat- 
tle and in the numberless engagements 
between the opposing cavalry corps. 
" The Campaigns of Stuart's Cavalry," 
written by his Adjutant-General, the late 
Major H. B. McClellan, is a valuable 
military work as well as memoir of the 
General. It is out of print and not easily 
accessible to the present generation. No 
adequate life of General Stuart has yet 
been produced, but the address delivered 
by Judge Garnett, which is now published 
by his authority, may be taken as a cor- 
[9] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

rect outline of his career and a faithful 
tribute to the great commander of Lee's 
cavalry. 

It may yet form the basis and prove the 
inspiration for a more elaborate work 
which, it is hoped, the author may soon 
undertake. 

The Publishers. 



[io] 



The Veteran Cavalry Association of 
the Army of Northern Virginia 

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch 
of May 30, 1907, the following con- 
densed account of the organization of this 
Association is made: 

To the untiring efforts of a body of 
men known as the Veteran Cavalry Asso- 
ciation of the Army of Northern Virginia 
is due the noble equestrian figure which 
graces the intersection of Franklin and 
Lombardy Streets, and which is sacred to 
the memory of General J. E. B. Stuart, 
the dashing cavalry leader of the Army 
of Northern Virginia. 

On October 3, 1891, the Association 
was organized. Its purpose at that time 
was simply to mark the grave of General 
Stuart with a suitable monument, but it 
was finally determined that the Associa- 
tion, with the aid of the city of Rich- 
mond, would erect this equestrian statue. 
[11] 



Major-General 7. E. B. Stuart 

The Association was formed with the 
following officers: General Fitzhugh 
Lee, president; Captain Charles A. 
Taylor, secretary, and Mr. E. A. Catlin, 
treasurer. Upon the death of Captain C. 
A. Taylor, Lieutenant W. Ben Palmer be- 
came the secretary of the Association, and 
to his faithful and efficient service is due 
much of the success of the undertaking. 

The following officers were vice-presi- 
dents: Generals Wade Hampton, L. L. 
Lomax, M. C. Butler, William H. 
Payne, William P. Roberts, Thomas T. 
Munford, and Major H. B. McClellan. 

The following executive committee 
served with faithfulness and devotion: 
Thomas W. Sydnor, John Lamb, A. R. 
Venable, M. J. Dimmock, E. C. Minor, 
James R. Werth, Jos. W. Thomas, 
Charles Selden, L. B. Vaughan, Joseph 
Bryan, Theodore S. Garnett, John W. 
Gordon, Frank T. Sutton, P. H. Mayo, 
Charles T. O'Ferrall, and James Vass. 

At a meeting held in Mechanics' Insti- 
tution the ioth of May, 1904, from cer- 
[12] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

tain models on exhibition there the 
design submitted by Mr. Fred Moynihan 
was accepted, subject to some changes 
suggested by the Committee on Statue, 
which committee was composed of Gen- 
eral Fitzhugh Lee, Major A. R. Venable, 
Judge Theodore S. Garnett, and Captain 
M. J. Dimmock. The work of casting 
the bronze from this model was assigned 
to the Gorham Manufacturing Company 
of Providence, R. L, and was most suc- 
cessfully done. 

The base of the monument was de- 
signed and erected by Captain M. J. Dim- 
mock, of Richmond, Virginia. 

On April 28, 1905, the Association suf- 
fered severe loss in the death of its Presi- 
dent, General Fitzhugh Lee, to whom no 
successor has yet been elected, but it is 
proposed to continue the organization for 
social and beneficial objects, although the 
principal intention of its founders has 
now been happily accomplished. 

A photograph of the monument is here 
published. 

[13] 



Address Delivered at the Unveiling 
of the Equestrian Statue of Gen- 
eral J. E. B. Stuart at Richmond, 
Virginia, May 30, 1907, 

By Theodore S. Garnett, his A. D. C. 

Comrades of the Veteran Cavalry Asso- 
ciation of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, United Confederate Veterans, Fel- 
low Citizens of Richmond, Ladies and 
Gentlemen : 

In response to a call as inspiring as the 
bugles of Stuart on the field of battle, I 
am here to attempt the impossible task 
which has been assigned me by my old 
comrades. 

Forty-three years, to this same flowery 
month of May, have passed away since 

The cannon of his country pealed Stuart's funeral 
knell, 

[15] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

and that same period has elapsed since 
the city of Richmond registered its high 
resolve to place a monument here to his 
undying name. 

To the honor of this city, and in proof 
of her gratitude for his sacrifice of life 
in her behalf, the city of Richmond, com- 
ing to the aid of the Veteran Cavalry 
Association of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, sees to-day the realization of 
hopes so long cherished by his faithful 
followers. 

On the 14th day of May, 1864, at a 
meeting of the City Council of Rich- 
mond, General Randolph, after announc- 
ing to the Council the death of General 
Stuart, submitted the following reso- 
lution : 

Whereas, The people of Richmond, in common 
with their fellow-citizens of the Confederate States, 
have to deplore in the death of Major General J. E. 
B. Stuart, not only the loss of one of the first mili- 
tary characters of the age, but also of a citizen whose 
eminent patriotism and pure life gave the best guar- 

[16] 



{East Side) 

MAJOR GENERAL J. E. B. STUART 

Commanding Cavalry Corps, Army of 

Northern Virginia 

This Statue Erected by his Comrades and 

the City of Richmond 

A..D. 1907 

( West Side) 

Born in Patrick County, Va., February 6, 

1833 

Died in Richmond, Va., May 12, 1864 

Aged 31 Years 

Mortally Wounded in the Battle of Yellow 

Tavern May 11, 1864 

"He gave his life for his country and saved this 

city from capture." 

{South Side) 
• • Tell General Stuart to act on his own judgment 
and do what he thinks best; I have implicit 
confidence in him."- General T. f. {Stone- 
wall) Jackson on turning over the command 
of his troops to Stuart, after being wounded at 
Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863. 



'-}-, {North Side) 
l1 coi 



His grateful countrymen will mourn his loss and 
cherish his memory. To his comrades in arms 
he has left the proud recollection of his deeds 
and the inspiring influence of his example."— 
General R. E. Lee announcing the death of 
General Stuart to his Army, May 20, 1864. 



























" 



j 

- 






Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

antee that his great military capacity would never 
be otherwise employed than in the cause of freedom 
and for the welfare of his country; and 

Whereas, They not only recognize this their great 
misfortune, in common with the rest of their coun- 
trymen, but bearing in mind that he yielded up his 
heroic spirit in the immediate defense of their city, 
and the successful effort to purchase their safety by 
the sacrifice of his own life, they are profoundly 
moved with sentiments of gratitude for his great 
services and of benevolent feeling for his glorious 
memory, and are desirous to express and to record 
their sense of peculiar obligation in a permanent and 
emphatic manner; therefore be it 

Resolved, That the Council of the city of Rich- 
mond, in behalf of the citizens thereof, tender to the 
family of General Stuart the deepest and most heart- 
felt condolence, and earnestly request that the re- 
mains of their great benefactor may be permitted to 
rest under the eye and guardianship of the people of 
Richmond, and that they may be allowed to com- 
memorate by a suitable monument their gratitude 
and his services. 

A further resolution was adopted ap- 
pointing a committee of three, Messrs. 
Randolph, Denton, and Hill, 
[17] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

To report a design for a suitable monument and 
inscription at some future meeting of the body. 



War, with its relentless fury, swept on- 
ward over every foot of Virginia soil. 
The enemy, in ever-increasing hosts, en- 
compassed you about and sat down over 
against this devoted city — the Capital of 
the Confederacy — and within a twelve- 
month the bitter fate that had been 
averted from you by Stuart and his 
troopers, swiftly and suddenly descended 
upon you. 

The days of our years of destruction 
and reconstruction have been many and 
full of sorrow, but to-day we behold a 
resurrection and ascension as marvelous 
as it is glorious. Your city is not only 
rebuilt, but it has expanded beyond 
imagination. Where we now stand was 
then the open country. The triumphant 
march of progress has opened up this 
magnificent Monument Avenue, crowned 
as it is by the imposing statue of General 
[18] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

Lee and the memorial to President Jeffer- 
son Davis. Into this goodly company we 
come now to place the heroic statue of a 
man who, 

Take him for all in all 

We ne'er shall look upon his like again. 

James Ewell Brown Stuart was 
born in Patrick County, Virginia, on the 
6th day of February, 1833. 

He was the youngest son of Archibald 
Stuart and Elizabeth, his wife; and 
whether or not our democratic simplicity 
attaches any significance to his alleged 
descent from the royal line of Scotland's 
kings, we who knew this true son of Vir- 
ginia make bold to declare that no prince 
of the blood ever did more honor to an 
illustrious ancestry. Strong in mind and 
body, educated in the three cardinal vir- 
tues of Virginia youth, he grew up to 
manhood a splendid specimen of the 
hardy young mountaineer, and fresh from 
the meadows and pinnacles of the Dan, he 
[19] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

took his place among the boys at West 
Point, and there learned the science that 

Teacheth the hands to war and the fingers to fight. 

Noted in this famous school as the most 
daring and skillful horseman among all 
his fellows, he sought and obtained active 
duty as a lieutenant in the Second U. S. 
Cavalry, then engaged in an arduous ex- 
pedition against the Indians of the South- 
west. 

In close encounter with this subtle 
enemy he received a severe wound — the 
only injury he ever suffered until his 
fatal wounding in his last battle. Soon 
recovering, he was sent to the plains of 
Kansas, where his command vainly strove 
to keep the peace between the warring 
factions of Northern and Southern set- 
tlers — the first mutterings of the storm 
which soon broke upon our country in the 
whirlwind of civil war. 

In October, 1859, as aide-de-camp to 
Colonel Robert E. Lee at Harper's Ferry, 
[20] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

he bore the summons to John Brown to 
surrender himself and his fanatic follow- 
ers to the authority of the United States 
and to Virginia, whose peace and dignity 
they had criminally violated. With grim 
humor old Ossawattomie Brown told the 
young man how easily he could have 
taken his life, as he felt tempted to do, 
when Lieutenant Stuart approached the 
engine-house door and demanded his sur- 
render. 

Such, in brief, was his preparation for 
the great career on which he entered in 
1861. 

To his old comrades here, and to most 
of those who were in other arms of the 
service, it is a thrice-told tale to recount 
his mighty deeds, his prowess in battle, 
his sleepless vigilance, his unerring judg- 
ment in strategy and attack, his faith in 
our cause, and his devotion to duty. But 
it is right, on this historic occasion, when 
his memory rises for the coronation of 
this hour, to take brief note of the 
[21] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

achievements of this great commander of 
the cavalry of the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

Identified with that army from its first 
skirmish to the day of his death, he knew 
no other duty nor any loftier ambition 
than to serve 

The cause of freedom and the welfare of his 
country. 

With all his soul he loved his country. 
No patriot in all the tide of time ever 
worshiped at the pure shrine of Liberty 
with nobler devotion than he. As we 
were bringing him mortally wounded off 
the field at Yellow Tavern, he exclaimed 
with intense feeling to some who were re- 
treating by him : " Go back, my men, go 
back! and do your duty as I have done 
mine, and our country will be free." 

Bear with me, then, while I hasten 
through the thrilling record of his won- 
derful and brilliant career. 

From the day when, with a small force, 

[22] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

he captured an entire company of the ene- 
my's infantry near the Potomac, to the 
hour of that fatal charge in which he re- 
ceived his death-wound, there was not a 
moment of his life which lacked the in- 
spiration of his high ambition or the tire- 
less energy of his zealous soul. 

Pressing forward his handful of cav- 
alry, through byways and difficult paths, 
he passed from rear to front of Johnston's 
column on the march from the Valley to 
first Manassas, eager to be in at the death 
of McDowell's army. There, at the 
crucial moment, he led a mounted charge 
into the midst of the Federal infantry, 
breaking their lines and precipitating the 
disorder which soon became a panic and 
a rout more complete than any ever after- 
ward seen on the field of battle. Of this 
movement General Early, in his official 
report, says: 

Stuart did as much toward saving the battle of 
First Manassas as any subordinate who participated 
in it. 

[23] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

From Manassas to the Peninsula, now 
as a brigade commander, he served Gen- 
eral Johnston with such indefatigable 
skill as to merit that great General's 
heartiest acknowledgment, and wrung 
from him, afterward, when separated, the 
deep lament: " How can I eat or sleep 
in any peace without you on the out- 
post!" 

The crossing of sabers at Williamsburg 
was the beginning of the long list of cav- 
alry battles in which Stuart's genius for 
war shone so conspicuously bright, and in 
which he taught his troopers the lessons 
from which the cavalry of Europe now 
seek their inspiration and education. 

The engagements along the Chicka- 
hominy made manifest the superiority of 
Stuart's cavalry over McClellan's, and 
here, for the first time, a feat then un- 
paralleled in war was accomplished, 
which it is doubtful whether any other 
man than Stuart would have dared to at- 
tempt. This first raid around McClel- 
[24] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

lan's army, not only made him famous as 
a cavalry leader, but blazed the way for 
that grand strategy of General Lee which 
brought Jackson from the Valley and 
overwhelmed McClellan in the Seven 
Days' battles. 

The march of General Stuart in June, 
1862, with 1200 men and two guns under 
Lieutenant Breathed of the Stuart Horse 
Artillery, making the entire circuit of 
McClellan's army, with the loss of one 
officer, the gallant Captain William Lat- 
ane, of the Essex Troop, was an achieve- 
ment not only unique in war, but the in- 
formation thus obtained was the moving 
cause of the defeat of McClellan's entire 
campaign. 

Speedily assembling his command in 
July of that year, when his well-won com- 
mission as major-general was conferred 
upon him, he hastened to the assistance of 
Jackson in the campaign against Pope, 
and again in the rear of the enemy he 
captured Manassas and played havoc 
[25] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

with the supplies and communications of 
Pope's army. 

An English military critic has recently 
recorded this opinion : 

Without the help which Stuart was able to give, 
the flank march around Pope's army by Jackson's 
corps and the concentration of the two Confederate 
wings on the battlefield of Manassas, would not 
have been possible — Crisis of the Confederacy," 
p. 392. 

Then crossing the Potomac, Stuart oc- 
cupied the rich pastures of Maryland 
and protected the cantonments of General 
Lee as his army rested at Frederick, re- 
cuperating its strength for the fierce en- 
counter at Sharpsburg. Here he took 
position on the left of Jackson's corps and 
held off the masses which threatened to 
envelop and destroy our exposed left 
wing, thus rendering possible the bloody 
repulse inflicted upon McClellan's pre- 
ponderant forces. 

Returning to Virginia, he conceived 
and executed a second expedition around 
[26] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

McClellan's host, via Chambersburg and 
the enemy's rear, recrossing the Potomac 
into Virginia after inflicting great losses, 
capturing prisoners, horses, and transpor- 
tation, and putting to flight all McClel- 
lan's dreams of conquest. So great, in- 
deed, was the effect of this movement that 
President Lincoln indulged his sarcastic 
humor at the expense of McClellan, 
laughing to scorn the alleged brokendown 
condition of his cavalry, and placing on 
record the President's own testimony to 
the fact that Stuart's cavalry had " out- 
marched and outfought " its opponents, 
and was still ready for battle. This fact, 
so plain to Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stanton, 
after the Chambersburg raid, caused the 
loss of McClellan's official head, and 
Burnside supplanted him. 

The long march to Fredericksburg 
soon followed, and great credit must be 
awarded to Stuart for the masterly hand- 
ling of his small forces in protecting the 
exposed flank of our army as it marched 
[27] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

eastward to interpose between Richmond 
and the heavy advancing columns of 
Burnside. Day after day our cavalry met 
the enemy's in severe and incessant com- 
bat, while the army pursued the even 
tenor of its way, undisturbed by the dis- 
tant thunder of our guns and the shock 
of charging squadrons. 

So was it ever with us, my comrades, 
and our brethren of the infantry and artil- 
lery. While the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia slept in peace, Stuart on the outpost 
made their rest secure. If the men com- 
posing Stuart's Cavalry Corps were not 
worthy of the best troops of any army, 
then it is vain to seek for soldiers in any 
part of this world. 

Brother Cavalrymen! I salute you, sur- 
vivors of a body of horsemen worthy of 
King Arthur, Richard Coeur de Leon, 
Godfrey de Bouillon, Prince Rupert and 
his Cavaliers, Cromwell and his troopers, 
or the greatest of all cavalrymen, Robert 
E. Lee! 

[28] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

FREDERICKSBURG 

What a splendid panorama was un- 
folded to your steady gaze as the fog 
lifted above the snowy canopy of that 
rolling plain, disclosing in vast array the 
long blue lines of battle. On the right 
near Hamilton's crossing, Stuart attacked 
the enemy, and with impetuous dash he 
led his horse artillery, under the gallant 
Pelham, into the jaws of death, ham- 
mered the flank of Meade's grand divi- 
sion, and with two guns, far to the front, 
opposed a multitude of batteries, break- 
ing their lines and aiding most materially 
the victory won by Jackson and his in- 
domitable veterans. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE 

Chancellorsville followed with the 
first breath of spring, and in its wonder- 
ful story is found the climax of Stuart's 
glorious career. 

History and Art are fond of portray- 
. [29] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

ing the last meeting of Lee and Jackson. 
To those immortal names the great heart 
of the South instinctively adds, by com- 
mon and universal consent, the name of 
Stuart as worthy to ride with them down 
the ages. In that last meeting the hand 
of Stuart clasped the hand of Jackson in 
a long farewell as Stuart moved in front 
to clear the way for the last great triumph 
and tragedy of Jackson's life. And when 
Lee's " right arm " was stricken help- 
less by that fearful accident, and Jackson 
lay bleeding on the fatal field, who of all 
that host could dare to grasp and wield 
the fallen chieftain's sword? Night had 
closed in upon the halting lines, and con- 
fusion worse confounded threatened to 
turn back the tide of victory. With the 
wounding of General A. P. Hill, and 
the noble self-denial of General Rodes, 
the command of Jackson's corps de- 
volved upon General Stuart — the most 
trying responsibility that was ever forced 
upon any officer in any battle of the war. 
[30] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

" Send for General Stuart/' said Jack- 
son, and with this last order ever uttered 
by him on the field of his great glory, he 
added the noble sentence inscribed upon 
this monument: 

Tell General Stuart to act upon his own judg- 
ment and do what he thinks best — I have implicit 
confidence in him. 

With that message ringing in his ears, 
and inspired with superhuman energy, 
the young cavalryman spent the dark 
hours of that eventful night in ceaseless 
activity, restoring order out of chaos ; and 
when the day dawned every man was in 
his place, the lines well drawn, and with 
a spirit as indomitable as Jackson's own, 
he hurled his troops in fresh onset upon 
the bristling ranks of the astonished foe. 
Crowning Hazel Grove with massed ar- 
tillery, he swept away Hooker's last 
refuge, joined his right wing to the ad- 
vancing troops under the eye of General 
Lee, and burst over the plateau of Chan- 
[31] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

cellorsville with shouts of victory louder 
than the roar of battle. 

You, his old troopers, who knew and 
loved him so well, need no other reason 
for your faith and pride in him than the 
fact that the names of Lee, Jackson, and 
Stuart are indissolubly linked together in 
the f)roud record which history has in- 

ribed for him in the temple of fame. 

A distinguished officer of the artillery 
of Longstreet's corps (General Alex- 
ander) has placed on record this tribute 
to Stuart, as true as it is generous, when 
he wrote: 

Altogether, I do not think there was a more 
brilliant thing done in the war than Stuart's extri- 
cating that command from the extremely critical 
position in which he found it, as promptly and 
boldly as he did. We knew that Hooker had at 
least 80,000 infantry at hand. . . . The hard 
marching and the night fighting had thinned our 
ranks to less than 20,000. But Stuart never seemed 
to hesitate or doubt for one moment. . . . He 
decided to attack at daybreak, and, unlike many 
planned attacks that I have seen, this one came off 

[32] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

promptly on time, and it never stopped to draw its 
breath until it had crashed through everything, and 
our forces stood united around Chancellor's burning 
house. 

And General Alexander adds: 

I always thought it an injustice to Stuart and a 
loss to the army that he was not from that moment 
continued in command of Jackson's corps. He 1 id 
won the right to it. I believe he had all of Jack- 
son's genius and dash and originality. . . J Stuart 
possessed the rare quality of being always' equal to 
himself at his very best. 



FLEETWOOD OR BRANDY STATION 

I have said that Chancellorsville was 
the climax of Stuart's glory. It con- 
vinced the army of Stuart's power to 
handle large bodies of infantry and ar- 
tillery in action, under desperate circum- 
stances and against desperate odds. 

We come now to the battle of Fleet- 
wood, as he called it, but better known 
by his men as Brandy Station, June 9, 
1863, m which we see him as the victor 
[33] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

in the greatest cavalry battle of the nine- 
teenth century. 

General Pleasanton's twenty-four regi- 
ments of cavalry were supported by ten 
regiments of Federal infantry, while 
only fifteen regiments of Stuart's com- 
mand were actually engaged in the bat- 
tle, unsupported by any infantry what- 
ever. Pleasanton's plan of battle was ad- 
mirable. Under the gallant Gregg one 
division was thrown directly in rear of 
our line at Fleetwood Hill, while Buford 
with two divisions of his cavalry and one 
brigade of infantry assaulted our whole 
front at St. James' Church. By all the 
laws of war and chances of battle, Stuart 
should have been crushed and utterly 
destroyed. But by a rapid change of 
front to rear Stuart hastened to Fleet- 
wood with regiment after regiment of 
Jones's and Hampton's brigades, and by 
a succession of most gallant and desperate 
charges wrested victory from the jaws of 
defeat and drove Gregg and Kilpatrick 
[34] ' 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

from the vantage ground of Fleetwood 
Hill. 

No more brilliant spectacle was ever 
witnessed than the brave Hampton lead- 
ing on his gallant Carolinians, as with 
flashing sabers they plunged into the 
masses of Gregg's troopers and scattered 
them far and wide. Nor will the saber 
ever play a more glorious part in battle 
than did that day the shining blades of 
the Virginians under Harman, Elijah 
White, Lindsay Lomax, and Flournoy, 
and of the North Carolinians under Law- 
rence Baker, the South Carolinians under 
Black, the Georgians under Young, and 
the Mississippians under Waring. I 
mention these glorious names not because 
they excelled in valor the steady work of 
W. H. F. Lee's brigade and the Seventh 
Virginia Cavalry and others, who held 
back the two divisions of Buford, but be- 
cause it was vouchsafed to them to show 
the world that the saber is, after all, the 
weapon for grand cavalry battle. 
[35] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

For partisan warfare, or Indian and 
cowboy skirmishes, let the pistol and 
carbine hold undisputed sway; but for 
the fields on which thousands of cavalry 
strive for mastery in the shock of great 
battle, may the sabers of Stuart, of For- 
rest, and of Hampton ever lead the 
charging squadrons to victory or death. 

GETTYSBURG 

The campaign of Gettysburg com- 
menced with a series of cavalry fights in 
Loudoun and Fauquier. For five days 
Stuart was constantly engaged with Pleas- 
anton's whole corps, who, supported by 
the infantry, assumed the offensive and 
displayed an energy and audacity which 
would otherwise never have been ex- 
hibited. The resulting losses were severe, 
and when we commenced the long march 
to the enemy's rear, threatening Wash- 
ington City, our men and horses were 
already worn and jaded. 

The fact that it took Stuart one day 
[36] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

longer than he expected to fight his way 
to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, arriving on 
the field of Gettysburg on the second day 
of the battle, has been used to account for 
the failure of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia to keep up its unbroken score of 
victories. 

To say that the battle would have been 
won if Stuart had arrived a day earlier 
is a tribute to him greater than his most 
ardent admirers could claim. General 
Lee believed that if Stonewall Jackson 
had been there the victory would have 
been assured. But Stuart was as blame- 
less for his march to Carlisle as Jackson 
was for his absence in another and better 
world. The charge that Stuart's march 
from the Potomac to the Susquehanna 
was not warranted by his orders or by the 
best military judgment at that time, has 
been completely refuted by the masterly 
pens of Colonel John S. Mosby and 
Major H. B. McClellan, based on the 
official records. 

[37] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

General Lee's letters to Stuart on the 
22d and 23d of June, 1863,* establish the 
fact that General Lee authorized Stuart 
to use his discretion as to crossing the 
Potomac by way of the enemy's rear, and 
General Longstreet, who communicated 
to him those instructions, distinctly ad- 
vised General Stuart to choose that route. 
Two brigades of cavalry (Robertson and 
Jones) were left on the Blue Ridge to 
watch Hooker's army on the Potomac and 
keep General Lee advised of Hooker's 
movements, while Stuart with his other 
three brigades moved on through Mary- 
land. A cavalry fight at Hanover took 
place on June 30th with Kilpatrick's 
division. It caused a wide detour, in the 
course of which we crossed the trail of 
Early's division. General Early heard 
our guns at Hanover and rightly conjec- 
tured that they were Stuart's Horse Ar- 
tillery. Strangely and unhappily he 
failed to communicate with Stuart or 

* See Appendix 

[38] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

leave any intimation that he was on the 
march for Cashtown. 

Napoleon's guns at Waterloo were 
heard by Grouchy on the road to Wavre, 
and if he had crossed over to the Emper- 
or's assistance the story of Waterloo 
would have been differently told. But 
no sound of Ewell's battle on the ist of 
July at Gettysburg reached Stuart's ears 
as he pressed on to Carlisle, where he 
expected to find the right wing of Gen- 
eral Lee's army. Therefore it happened 
that the cavalry attacked Carlisle, and 
there, near midnight, by the glare of the 
burning Barracks, Stuart read the dis- 
patch announcing the victory of Ewell 
and Hill over the Federal forces. In- 
stantly the attack on Carlisle was aban- 
doned, and by a hard night march we 
pressed south to Gettysburg, arriving just 
as Ewell was beginning his assault upon 
Culp's Hill on the evening of the second 
day's battle. 

It is needless to tell you of the severe 
[39] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

cavalry fight on July 3d between Stuart 
and Gregg on our extreme left — a posi- 
tion which we held as the battle closed, 
and which was of critical value if the 
charge of Pickett and Pettigrew had re- 
sulted as General Lee expected. 

To those who know General Stuart's 
character as we knew it, the bare sugges- 
tion that he was capable of disobeying any 
order of General Lee, either in letter or 
in spirit, is not only incredible, but abso- 
lutely untrue. General Lee himself, in 
his official report, makes not the slightest 
intimation of such a monstrous impos- 
sibility. 

Colonel Mosby, in righteous indigna- 
tion, has exclaimed: 

How could Stuart join Ewell on the Susque- 
hanna, guard the gaps of the Blue Ridge in Vir- 
ginia, watch and impede Hooker's crossing of the 
Potomac, and then place himself on the right of our 
column as it advanced into Pennsylvania, unless he 
was inspired with ubiquity? Even Hercules could 
not perform all of his twelve labors at the same time. 

[40] 



Major-General J . E. B. Stuart 

The last word has not yet been said 
about Gettysburg. It will be discussed 
long after Waterloo has been forgotten, 
but history will not permit the fame of 
Stuart to be tarnished by the false claim 
that he disobeyed any order ever received 
by him from General Lee. 

His conduct in reaching the battlefield 
as soon as he did is as praiseworthy as his 
invaluable service on the retreat to the 
Potomac. Of this service the author of 
the " Crisis of the Confederacy," a 
trained military critic, says: 

That Lee brought his forces out of this dilemma, 
not only without serious loss but with an air of 
reluctantly relinquishing the theatre, was due to the 
skill of his dispositions and to the admirable co- 
ordination of the movements of his lieutenants; but 
the march was only possible, thanks to the bold and 
skillful handling of the cavalry by Stuart, who ex- 
celled himself in these dark days of misfortune. 

And the same excellent authority says : 

Stuart's indefatigable horsemen could be counted 
on to render valuable help in delaying the enemy's 

[41] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

advance and guarding the left, which was the ex- 
posed flank, if the enemy should venture to attack. 
All day on July 8th, while the cavalry was fighting, 
the Confederate army rested after the feat of march- 
ing which had brought it from Gettysburg to the 
Potomac. 

Bear in mind that in this retreat Stuart 
was suffering from the loss of many of his 
best officers killed, and among the severely 
wounded was the gallant Hampton, 
whose services for many days were lost to 
the cavalry. 

Time does not permit, nor will your 
patience allow, even a brief outline of 
Stuart's further service in the last year of 
his life. Twice more on the field of 
Brandy Station he encountered the 
enemy's cavalry, and each time drove him 
back across the Rappahannock. And in 
the Bristoe campaign he scattered the 
command and well-nigh ruined the repu- 
tation of General Kilpatrick at the 
" Buckland races." The Mine Run cam- 
paign with its intense cold and suffering 
[42] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

soon followed, and after Meade's retreat 
from Mine Run with an army more than 
double that of General Lee, we settled 
down in winter quarters at Orange, await- 
ing the final struggle in northern Vir- 
ginia. 

The official records give no sign of the 
tremendous effort put forth by Stuart to 
overcome the disparity of force then ex- 
isting and daily increasing between 
Stuart and Sheridan. With less than half 
his cavalry mounted, General Stuart 
moved against the twelve thousand cav- 
alry of Sheridan, and in the Wilderness, 
at Todd's Tavern, and Spottsylvania 
Court House he neutralized the vast body 
of cavalry attending Grant's army. 

On Monday, May 9, 1864, -Sheridan 
with 10,000 well-mounted and equipped 
cavalry and several batteries of artillery, 
flanking our extreme right at Spottsylva- 
nia Court House, marched rapidly south 
to capture and destroy the city of Rich- 
mond. Promptly Stuart moved with two 
[43] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

brigades of Fitz Lee's division, Wickham 
and Lomax, leaving orders for Gordon 
with his North Carolina brigade to fol- 
low fast. A severe fight with Sheridan's 
rearguard took place that evening, and 
next day we pressed the rapidly moving 
enemy until Stuart succeeded in placing 
his two brigades in close contact with 
Sheridan's immense force, and boldly 
gave him battle at Yellow Tavern. 

For several hours Sheridan's whole 
column was checked. Gordon's brigade 
had attacked his rear many miles distant 
on the Mountain road, and so was sepa- 
rated from Stuart in the hour of his great- 
est need. Toward evening, after much 
fighting, with nearly our whole force dis- 
mounted, Sheridan, confident in the over- 
whelming numbers of his mounted troops, 
threw his heavy regiments, squadron after 
squadron, in a mounted charge upon our 
exposed left flank and broke through our 
artillery with resistless force. 

Capturing three of our guns, the head 
[44] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

of the enemy's column became engaged 
with our dismounted men and were sud- 
denly checked in their advance. They 
had passed by General Stuart, who had 
emptied his pistol at them and was sit- 
ting quietly on his horse as they hastened 
back by him on their return. Man after 
man fired upon him without hitting him, 
until nearly the last one of them dashed 
past, and putting his pistol close up to his 
side fired the fatal bullet and hastened 
away. The General was taken from his 
horse by Captain Gus Dorsey, of Mary- 
land, of Company K, First Virginia 
Cavalry, Stuart's old regiment, and then 
reviving a little from the shock, he was 
placed on the horse of Private Fred L. 
Pitts of that company, and led to an am- 
bulance in the rear of the line. In this 
connection the names of Corporal Rob- 
ert Bruce and Private Charles Wheatley 
are mentioned by Captain Dorsey as hav- 
ing rendered gallant service in removing 
the General to the ambulance, thus sav- 
[45] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

ing him from capture by the enemy. 
Thus safely brought off the field by the 
assistance of some of his staff, among 
them Major A.R.Venable,his gallant and 
devoted Inspector-General, he reached 
Richmond by way of Mechanicsville 
about eleven o'clock that night. He died 
here on the evening of May 12, 1864. 
Death never claimed a nobler victim. 

Thus fell the matchless leader of the 
Veteran Cavalry of the Army of North- 
ern Virginia. 

We come not now to mourn his loss. 
That has been one long lamentation 
throughout the years which have crowded 
out the recollection of his brave deeds. 
But we, his brothers-in-arms, partakers 
of his glory, assemble here in loving fel- 
lowship to commemorate his services in 
this enduring and fitting monument. 

The sculptor, Moynihan, has shared 

with us the inspiration of Stuart's career, 

and has fashioned both horse and rider 

with the spirit that animated his great 

[46] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

soul. Idealized, it may be, to a degree 
that speaks eloquently of the superb horse- 
man, the alert, active, dashing leader of 
brave men, it is at the same time a like- 
ness of the man just as he was when Gen- 
eral Sedgwick, his old commander, in 
rude appraisement, exclaimed: " Stuart 
is the best cavalry officer ever foaled in 
North America! " 

The military student of Great Britain 
and the Continent is never weary of study- 
ing the campaigns of Stuart. One of 
them has recently written : 

To Stuart belongs the credit of having brought 
to perfection a use of the cavalry arm which had 
been foreshadowed by the dragoons of Marl- 
borough's epoch, but which had not been seen dur- 
ing the intervening great wars of Europe, nor has 
it ever yet been successfully imitated. 

In the bold combination of fire and 
shock at the right moment, Stuart's cav- 
alry stands pre-eminent among the nations 
of the world. What loftier tribute can 
[47] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

be paid to the heroes of our corps, living 
and dead, whose proudest boast, either in 
the triumphs of life or in the agonies of 
death, is Stuart's great name! Drilled 
and disciplined by him, they learned the 
severe lessons of outpost duty, sleepless 
vigilance, patient endurance and skill in 
battle, until they became the steady reli- 
ance of General Lee in all his campaigns 
— the eyes and ears of the Army of North- 
ern Virginia. 

Day after day the bravest and best 
were slain in battle. Innumerable skir- 
mishes diminished our numbers as sorely 
as the losses of our infantry in many 
pitched battles, until our weary men 
with starving horses could scarce disguise 
the fact that we were fighting against 
hope. 

The late Colonel Henderson, of the 
British Army, the brilliant author of 
" The Life of Stonewall Jackson," has 
left this tribute to the veteran cavalry of 
both armies: 

[48] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 



It may, however, be unhesitatingly admitted that 
no cavalry of the nineteenth century, except the 
American, could have achieved the same results. . . 

And it may be just as unhesitatingly declared that 
the horseman of the American war is the model of 
the efficient cavalryman. 

THE STUART HORSE ARTILLERY. 

Attached to the cavalry corps was one 
of the bravest and most efficient organiza- 
tions that any army ever possessed. The 
Stuart Horse Artillery, from a single 
company commanded by the Gallant 
Pelham, grew into several battalions 
under Beckham, Breathed, Hart, Mc- 
Gregor, Chew, and Thompson, whose 
distinguished services are worthy of 
the most brilliant pages of our history. 
Would that time permitted me to ren- 
der to the officers and men of those 
splendid horse-batteries the tribute they 
so well deserve! 

The honor of firing the first gun at 
Fort Sumter is no longer in doubt. The 

T49] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

proud distinction of firing the last gun 
at Appomattox is claimed by many, but 
the command that fired the most shot and 
shell, first, last and all the time, is per- 
haps, without doubt, the ever-glorious and 
gallant Stuart Horse Artillery. 

Welcome, also, my comrades of Mos- 
by's Battalion! In close affiliation with 
Stuart, nurtured and encouraged by him, 
valued and praised by him beyond meas- 
ure, was the Forty-third Battalion of Vir- 
ginia Cavalry, under the brave, skillful, 
and distinguished commander, Colonel 
John S. Mosby. Their heroic deeds form 
part of the glory achieved by the army, 
and we link their names with the cavalry 
corps in loving fellowship and everlasting 
honor. 

And now, my Comrades, our task is 
done. This day, so long expected, has 
come at last to bless our vision and rejoice 
our hearts. Again Stuart rides with his 
great Commander who himself wrote the 
epitaph of his Chief of Cavalry. In offi- 
[50] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

rial orders announcing his death to the 
army, May 20, 1864, General Lee said: 

Among the gallant soldiers who have fallen in 
this war General Stuart was second to none in valor, 
in zeal, and in unflinching devotion to his country. 
His achievements form a conspicuous part of the 
history of this army, with which his name and 
services will be forever associated. To military 
capacity of a high order and to the nobler virtues of 
the soldier he added the brighter graces of a pure 
life, guided and sustained by the Christian's faith 
and hope. The mysterious hand of an all-wise God 
has removed him from the scene of his usefulness 
and fame. 

And he added these words, carved upon 
this monument and graven in our hearts : 

His grateful countrymen will mourn his loss and 
cherish his memory. To his comrades in arms he 
has left the proud recollection of his deeds and the 
inspiring influence of his example. 

Once more Stuart rides with Lee, and 
again I see him, as on the plains of 
Brandy, the phantom horsemen pass him 
[51] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

in review — their survivors, on the eve of 
life's last battle, exclaiming now as then, 
" Te morituri salutamus! " 

Some of Stuart's pupils in the art of 
war have grown wiser, they think, than 
their master, and some have made bold 
to write themselves down as critics after 
the event. General Lee once wrote that 
even as poor a general as he himself was 
could see what might have been done after 
the battle was over. It has been truly- 
said that the general who never made a 
mistake never fought a battle. 

But now, waiving all controversy and 
comparison, Stuart stands upon the record 
inscribed upon this monument. The testi- 
mony of two witnesses is true: the wit- 
nesses are Stonewall Jackson and Robert 
E. Lee. 

To the city of Richmond as its faithful 
guardian we commit this monument, in 
whose care and keeping it will henceforth 
stand, in token of a people's gratitude and 
in perpetual memory of his heroic name. 
[52] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 



STUART 

I've called his name, a statue stern and vast, 
It rests enthroned upon the mighty past, 
Fit plinth for him whose image in the mind 
Looms up as that of one by God designed. 
Fit plinth, in sooth ! the mighty past for him, 
Whose simple name is Glory's synonym. 
E'en Fancy's self in her enchanted sleep 
Can dream no future which may cease to keep 
His name in guard, like sentinel, and cry 
From Time's great bastions: ' It shall never 
die!"' 



[53] 



APPENDIX 

Headquarters, June 22, 1863. 
Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, 
Commanding Cavalry. 
General: — I have just received your note of 
7 145 this morning to General Longstreet. I judge 
the efforts of the enemy yesterday were to arrest oui 
progress and ascertain our whereabouts. Perhaps 
he is satisfied. Do you know where he is, and what 
he is doing? I fear he will steal a march on us, and 
get across the Potomac before we are aware. If you 
find he is moving northward and that two brigades 
can guard the Blue Ridge and take care of your 
rear, you can move with the other three into Mary- 
land, and take position on General Ewell's right, 
place yourself in communication with him, guard his 
flank, keep him informed of the enemy's movements, 
and collect all the supplies you can for the use of 
the army. One column of General Ewell's army 
will probably move toward the Susquehanna by the 
Emmittsburg route; another by Chambersburg. . . 
I am very respectfully your obedient servant, 

R. E. Lee, 
General. 
[55] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

At 3 130 P. M. on the same day General 
Lee writes to General Ewell as follows : 

I also directed General Stuart, should the enemy 
have so far retired from his front as to permit the 
departure of a portion of the cavalry, to march with 
three brigades across the Potomac, and place himself 
on your right and in communication with you, keep 
you advised of the movements of the enemy, and as- 
sist in collecting supplies for the army. I have not 
heard from him since. . . . 

Headquarters, Millwood, 

June 22, 1863, 7 p. m. 
Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, 
Commanding Cavalry. 

General: — General Lee has enclosed to me this 
letter for you to be forwarded to you, provided you 
can be spared from my front, and provided I think 
that you can move across the Potomac without dis- 
closing our plans. He speaks of your leaving by 
Hopewell Gap, and passing by the rear of the enemy. 
If you can get through by that route I think you 
will be less likely to indicate what our plans are, 
than if you should cross by passing to our rear. I 
forward the letter of instructions with these sug- 
gestions. 

Please advise me of the condition of affairs before 

[56] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

you leave, and order General Hampton — whom I 
suppose you will leave here in command — to report 
to me at Millwood, either by letter or in person, 
as may be most agreeable to him. 

Most respectfully, 

James Longstreet, 

Lieutenant-General. 
N. B. — I think that your passage of the Potomac 
by our rear at the present moment will, in a measure, 
disclose our plans. You had better not leave us, 
therefore, unless you can take the proposed route in 
rear of the enemy. 

Having sent this letter to Stuart, Gen- 
eral Longstreet writes as follows to Gen- 
eral Lee: 

Headquarters, June 22, 1863, 7:30 p. m. 
General R. E. Lee, Commanding, etc. 

General: — Yours of 4 o'clock this afternoon is 
received. I have forwarded your letter to General 
Stuart, with the suggestion that he pass by the 
enemy's rear if he thinks that he may get through. 
We have nothing from the enemy to-day. 
Most respectfully, 

James Longstreet, 
Lieutenant-General Commanding. 

[57] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia, 

June 23, 1863, 5 p m. 
Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, 
Commanding Cavalry. 

General: — Your notes of 9 and 10:30 A. m. 
to-day have just been received. As regards the pur- 
chase of tobacco for your men, supposing that Con- 
federate money will not be taken, I am willing for 
your commissaries or quartermasters to purchase this 
tobacco, and let the men get it from them, but I can 
have nothing seized by the men. 

If General Hooker's army remains inactive, you 
can leave two brigades to watch him, and withdraw 
with the three others ; but should he not appear to be 
moving northward, I think you had better withdraw 
this side of the mountain to-morrow night, cross at 
Shepherdstown the next day, and move over to 
Fredericktown. 

You will however be able to judge whether you 
can pass around their army without hindrance, doing 
them all the damage you can, and cross the river 
east of the mountains. In either case, after crossing 
the river, you must move on, and feel the right of 
Ewell's troops, collecting information, provisions, 
etc. 

I am very respectfully and truly yours, 

R. E. Lee, 

General. 

[58] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

This correspondence shows that Gen- 
eral Lee gave General Stuart full discre- 
tion as to where he should cross the Poto- 
mac River into Maryland — either east or 
west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The 
eastern crossing necessarily involved his 
going " by the enemy's rear," thus passing 
between Hooker's army and Washington. 
It was impossible to pass between Hook- 
er's position and Harper's Ferry. So im- 
plicit was Gen. Lee's confidence in Stuart 
that he finally tells him to determine this 
question for himself. 

When General Stuart, after passing 
through the gap in the Bull Run Moun- 
tains, struck the rear of Hancock's corps 
and attacked it, he found that corps mov- 
ing north toward Leesburg. The way to 
the Potomac was clearly open via Fairfax 
Court House, and he chose that route. 

The only alternative then presented to 

Stuart's mind was to retrace his steps by a 

long march and follow Longstreet's corps, 

then moving northward through the Val- 

[59] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

ley. This would have practically de- 
prived the army of any aid from Stuart 
for several days, and left the enemy's cav- 
alry free to attack General Lee at any 
point along his line of march. 

The course adopted by General Stuart 
rendered Meade's cavalry of little use to 
him, two divisions of it having been sent 
off to look for Stuart. They found him at 
Hanover, Pa., on June 30, where a sharp 
encounter took place; but the march to 
Carlisle, as contemplated in his instruc- 
tions from General Lee, was resumed and 
he reached that place on July 1, much 
sooner than he could have done by any 
other route. 

Meantime, General Lee changed his 
mind and determined to concentrate his 
army near Cashtown ; orders so to do were 
in process of execution when Heth's divi- 
sion advanced toward Gettysburg, and 
contrary to orders brought on the engage- 
ment of July 1. But for this action the 

whole army would have been assembled 

[60] 



Major-General J. E. B. Stuart 

at Cashtown — infantry, artillery and cav- 
alry — and the battle would never have 
been fought at Gettysburg. Nothing 
would ever have been written or said of 
General Lee's lack of information by rea- 
son of Stuart's absence on his long march, 
and it is more than probable that a great 
battle near Cashtown would have been a 
complete victory for General Lee. 

T. S. G. 



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